James Courtney Adelaide preview

Courtney Chasing Breakthrough First Race Win On Streets Of Adelaide

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2: James Courtney, fresh from a win on debut for the
Toll Holden Racing Team, has set his sights on a breakthrough first
victory in Adelaide when the V8 Supercar Championship resumes later this
month.

James Courtney chases breakthrough first win in Adelaide

James Courtney

The 2010 champion has finished second in three races in the Clipsal 500
since entering the category, and goes into the second round of this
year's series from March 18-20 as the current race lap record holder on
the 3.2km street circuit.

"I was second in both races in Adelaide last year (2010), so it's time
to go one better and get on the top of the podium," said Courtney.

"This is one of our toughest events - I've always had good speed there,
but I've also had some big shunts and other dramas."

Courtney, who won the second of two races in this year's championship
opener in Abu Dhabi in February, said his confidence for Adelaide had
been boosted by the fact HRT team-mate Garth Tander won both races in
the 2010 Clipsal 500.

"A year ago Garth and I finished one-two, but we were racing for
different teams," said Courtney.

"HRT clearly know how to win in Adelaide, plus our team has good
momentum after Abu Dhabi."

"I'm still new to HRT, but we've come out and won straight away, and
things will get better and better as we do more races together and keep
developing our cars."

Courtney's third and remaining second place in Adelaide was in race one
in 2007, his second season as a fulltime V8 Supercar driver, and he also
claimed pole position as fastest qualifier that year.

But the JELD-WEN sponsored driver recalled his best previous opportunity
to win in Adelaide was the opening race of 2008. He led comfortably
until mid-race contact with Jason Richards' Commodore, and eventually
finished 16th.

"I had that race 'shot to bits', but then it all went 'pear shaped' when
I was lapping another car and we got tangled up," said Courtney.

"It was a massive disappointment, but the next day (race two) was even
worse when (Craig) Lowndes and I had a big hit and we both crashed into
the concrete wall."

Courtney, who lives on the Gold Coast, said the two 250km races in
Adelaide were traditionally among the most physically demanding on the
championship calendar for drivers.

"The heat gets trapped between all the concrete barriers and the in-car
temperature gets up around 60-degrees," he said.

"It tests your fitness and concentration because if you make a mistake
you're going to hit concrete walls."

"These V8 Supercars are big and heavy, and on street circuits like
Adelaide you're sliding around on bumps, and dealing with things like
running over man-hole covers, white lines, drains, and different
cambers."

Courtney holds the race lap record in Adelaide with a time of 1-minute
21.950-seconds. He set the time in race two in 2010.

While Courtney is yet to win in Adelaide, he has accumulated an
excellent record on street circuits with championship race victories in
Townsville and Sydney and top-three podium finishes in Hamilton in New
Zealand, and the Gold Coast. His street circuit results also include
winning a race in the non-championship V8 Supercar event at the 2010
Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne.

Despite winning race two in Abu Dhabi, Courtney heads to Adelaide 12th
in the championship. That is largely because he finished 26th in race
one in Abu Dhabi, four laps down on the leaders, after a lengthy
pit-stop for repairs to his car after contact with Jason Bargwanna's
Commodore. Courtney was penalised 50 championship points over the
incident.